December 1
María Santísima de la Paz, Torredonjimeno, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain
In 1987, sculptor Juan Ventura carved the cedarwood statue of St. Mary of Peace for the Confraternity of the Most Holy Risen Christ, which stages a dramatic reenactment of the risen Jesus and his mother every Easter. On December 1, 2007, the image was installed in the parish church of Santa María. Juan Ventura (b. 1954) is a Sevillan imagenero, religious image-maker, practicing an art long associated with the Catholic brotherhoods of the Spanish-speaking world. A disciple of sculptor Francisco Buiza (1922-1983), who studied under Sebastián Santos (1895-1976), he has fashioned devotional statues for groups throughout southern Spain. Cordoban imagenero Francisco Romero Zafra (b. 1956) restored the image of Our Lady of Peace in 2000. The Confraternity celebrates the feast of St. Mary of Peace in the parish church of St. Mary on January 24.
Photo source: "María Stma. de la Paz vestida para la festividad de la Inmaculada Concepción," Torredonjimeno Cofrade, tdjcofrade.blogspot.com/2008/12/mara-stma-de-la-paz-vestida-para-la.html